Baucus, Grassley Release Report on Financing Health Care Reform

The following is an excerpt from Capitol Report, a weekly e-newsletter from IHRSA Public Policy. IHRSA Members- subscribe today!

On Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a report on policy options for financing comprehensive health care reform. This is the third and final report from the Committee before they begin to mark up legislation in June. Three potential areas for funding are explored in the report; two are significant for IHRSA’s health promotion efforts.

One section the report explores current health care tax expenditures. Among those, are nine different policy options including modifying or eliminating Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Any change to FSAs is of particular importance to the fitness industry as it is the main tax vehicle for the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act (H.R. 2105).

While this report is not an outline of legislation that the Committee will consider, it does indicate the direction of the policies the Committee could well pursue. IHRSA has been and continues to heavily lobby members of the Senate Finance Committee and other Senators for their support of the PHIT Act. In fact, two Senators have expressed strong interest in introducing the bill in the Senate (it is currently, and historically has been, introduced in the House only). Fitness professionals are also speaking out. Earlier this month during the Summit for a Healthier America, fitness professionals met with staffers on the Committee and the offices of Senators on the Committee. It will be vital to the potential inclusion in any health care reform legislation that there is vocal support for Americans to continue to have access to FSAs and that FSAs be expanded to encourage healthy lifestyles.

The Senate report did address lifestyle tax proposals to “promote wellness and healthy lifestyle choices, and curb activities that increase overall health care costs.” The two policy options presented included the taxation of alcoholic beverages and excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. These measures demonstrate the Committee’s recognition that tax policy is a proven way to effect individual behavior change.

While these policies might “curb activities that increase overall health care costs” they do not go far enough to “promote wellness and healthy lifestyle choices.” Diet is only one part of the balance needed for a healthy lifestyle. Physical activity provides health benefits that diet alone cannot achieve. IHRSA will continue to lobby the Finance Committee and key Members of Congress for their support of tax policies that encourage physical activity as part of health care reform.

While IHRSA lobbies key Members, it is important that all Members of Congress hear from fitness professionals in their districts about the power of exercise and its impact on the people that they represent on Capitol Hill. You can make your voice heard by joining the Campaign for a Healthier America’s virtual march on Washington.

- Breanne McGahey

GOP: Prevention & Wellness

I attended a briefing this morning hosted by the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, "GOP Health Care Hearing: Prevention Through Healthy Behavior - A Key to Health Care Reform." The briefing room included two signs: 1) "Healthy Living Through Wellness & Prevention;" and "Healthy Living: Lowering Health Care Costs." I must confess to spending maybe a little too much time wondering if i could pull off wearing the signs as a sandwich board around Capitol Hill.

The briefing was on message, including high praise for financial wellness incentives from Governor Huckabee, Steve Burd (CEO of Safeway), and Dr. Andrew Baldwin (try googling him if you want to feel inadequate). The Senators in attendance (Senator Alexander, R-Tenn; Senator Ensign, R-Nev; Senator Thune, R-SD, Senator Burr, R-NC, and WHIP Co-Champion...Senator Cornyn - R-TX) seemed to agree. In fact, the executive summary distributed by the Policy Committee noted that health care reform should include "clarifying tax rules to make clear that any incentives provided in connection with wellness programs are not taxable income."

The health care reform debate includes many contentious issues, but the importance of prevention and wellness does not seem to be one of them. It's the perfect post-partisan issue! Tell your legislators about it here.

- Tom Richards

Rep. Ron Kind: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

Last week, IHRSA fitness professionals gathered in DC for the Campaign for a Healthier America to lobby for support of the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act (HR 2106/S 913) and the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act (HR 2105). US Representative Ron Kind was the lead sponsor of both bills in the House. The following is a post by Representative Kind on The Hill Blog.

Let’s face it; Americans have been too sedentary, too long. Sixty-four percent of American adults and 34% of children suffer from chronic disease, often brought about by obesity and lack of physical activity. A recent study even found that 20% of our four-year olds are obese. If lifestyle changes aren’t made, these kids are going to become obese adults and struggle with chronic disease all their lives. This is something we must reverse.

There’s a lot we could be doing at home to take care of our health. In our everyday lives, we have control over exercising more, eating better and giving up smoking. And the better we take care of ourselves, the more dramatic decline we’ll see in health care costs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that health care costs directly associated with inactivity were $76.6 billion in 2000. By using the tax code to incentivize physical activity, through the WHIP and PHIT Acts, we can cut these outrageous health care costs.

That’s why I and Rep. Zach Wamp, along with several other likeminded members of Congress, recently introduced the WHIP (Workforce Health Improvement Program) and PHIT (Personal Health Investment Today) Acts - to give people the incentive they need to get active; further preventing illness and disease, improving worker productivity and reducing the amount spent by consumers and government on managing major health issues every year.

The bills give employees pre-tax advantages for wellness activities, encouraging people to increase their physical activity. Not only does the WHIP Act affirm an employer’s right to deduct the cost of subsidizing or providing fitness center benefits to employees, encouraging them to offer the perk, but it also eliminates the income tax paid by employees on these benefits, giving them an incentive to get active. The PHIT bill increases the types of expenditures payable out of pre-tax health investment accounts, allowing taxpayers to use up to $1,000 annually for preventative exercise costs including fitness center dues, some exercise equipment, and sports activity fees, among others.

The WHIP and PHIT bills put us on the right track to reforming health care by keeping preventative measures in mind. These bills help remove the cost barrier associated with getting fit and promote a healthy lifestyle, furthering preventative health efforts and reducing our nation’s health care costs.

http://blog.thehill.com/2009/05/06/promoting-healthy-lifestyles-rep-ron-kind/

How Do We Define "The Best?"

I was recently asked by a journalist to recommend several IHRSA member clubs for an upcoming feature highlighting the “best” health clubs in America. This prompted me to think of how IHRSA as an organization defines a great health club, how consumers define a great club, and how any given facility might consider their club among the best.

Certainly, factors such as customer service, cleanliness, quality of equipment, space, classes, and programming could all be factors in this equation. Clubs with cutting-edge technology, cater to specific populations, employ green-friendly practices and are industry innovators could be considerations as well. We could look strictly at numbers – revenues, total memberships, facilities owned. To my knowledge, there is no set definition that would categorize a club as being among the best.

To attempt to answer this question, I would ask each club, “What percentage of your members are happy, getting healthy and meeting their fitness goals?” When it comes down to it, a club that has older equipment but happy members should be considered just as effective and great as one that has the newest products, most members, or significant square footage. My contention is that the clubs making a big difference in members’ lives, ones aiding members in living better in the here and now are the greatest, best clubs. The best varies for every individual.

If clubs struggle with measuring their effectiveness and their level of “greatness”, look to the members for answers. Ask them how you can help them meet their goals. Ask what it will take for them to be feeling better and living better. IHRSA has many, many member clubs that I would categorize among the best in the business.

-Rosemary Lavery